IKEA kitchen and stone bench top question

Call me crazy but I’m DYI-ing the install of a ceaser stone beach top. It’s a small section and I’ve got the piece cheap (offcut). The stone mason can cut to exact size but can’t install until next year so I’m going to give it a crack (and hopefully it won’t crack).

We installed the Ikea base cabinets today that the bench top will sit on. Ikea cabinets are open at the top. Does a substrate (eg 10 mm MDF) need to be installed first for the stone to sit on, or does the stone go straight on the top on the cabinets? I thought it went straight on but seeing the openness of the ikea cabinets has me doubting myself. There doesn’t seem like much surface area to support the stone.

 

I've got 20mm Quantum Quartz installed on Ikea frames and they have ~ 20mm chipboard substrate and a 40mm edge profile that hides the substrate.

An the island, instead of chipboard there is a welded steel frame substrate to support a 400mm corner overhang.

If you don't have a 40mm edge profile, I'm not sure how a substrate would be done.

 

Based on that question I would pay an installer. Check HiPages. Depending on size etc it can be installed directly and in other cases a substrate MDF is best. A different adhesive is used in each instance. Eg a slightly flexible drying compound is used where there is no substrate and assists levelling and bonding (then dries). DONT bond to wall and allow a gap !! A thinner glue is used to bond stone and MDF. The MDF must be smaller than the benchtop (2mm each edge) and likely needs a stone edge that is 40mm to hide the substrate. This is why cabinet making is a trade.

Video from 3:30 onwards

 

Here is a good install guide esp page 21

https://www.thestonecollection.com/sites/default/files/CS_FabManual_0910.pdf

 

Thank you! It seems that some people use substrate, some don’t... I’ll go without and see what happens. Need to live on the edge sometimes it’s just in the WIP so if the install isn’t 100% perfect I’m not too fussed, I’ll just use thicker tiles for the back splash !

 

I wouldnt assume a thicker tile bed is a solution. It will look terrible. If you have top cabinets and tile bench to the underside of cabinet it may hide it but a 15mm packing behind one side of tiles and nil on the other end will look dodgy otherwise. What looks square can easily be 20mm out. After doing a laundry I would never take on a kitchen without having a cabinet maker assist the install.

 

Depends on the thickness of your stone. If you go for the 2mm, the stone is flat all the way through and can be placed directly on the cabinet frames. If you go for 4mm or higher, it is actually a number of 2mm stone panels glued together, but only towards the front on the visible side, so it is packed with wood at the back to make it flat all the way through (so the front of the benchtop will be 4mm stone and directly on the cabinet frame, and the back will be 2mm stone, 2mm wood, then on the cabinet frame). Hope it makes sense.
If you do it yourself, make sure the top of the cabinet frame is razor straight, and front and back top edges are perfectly aligned with whatever else needs be.

 

I suspect you mean 2cm / 4cm = 20mm / 40mm.